If you live in an area that sees all four seasons, plants either keep your home bright and lively during the long winter months or become the source of much excitement as spring approaches.
Shopping at local gardening centers can be expensive, so you might be wondering about Walmart’s selection of live plants.
If you have questions like is Walmart a good place to buy plants? Does Walmart offer any guarantees on their plants? What types and how much are they? Here is all you need to know!
Key Takeaways
Buying Plants From Walmart In 2022
What Types Of Plants Does Walmart Sell?
Walmart sells both indoor and outdoor live plants.
However, it is important to note that this list is just a general overview, and not an exact accounting of your Walmart store’s stock.
Availability will depend on location, time of year and other factors. This is just intended to give you an idea of the types of live plants you can find in Walmart stores and via their website.
Indoor
Some varieties of indoor plants that Walmart sell include:
- Succulents – I have seen a handful of different types of succulents in my own stores, mostly smaller in size, but they definitely get bigger if you take care of them!
I also love how Walmart sometimes puts stickers on the succulents that say “I thrive on neglect”!
- Bonsai trees
- Cacti – Like the succulents, I have seen a lot of smaller, maybe 4 to 6-inch types of these plants.
- Pothos
- Ferns
- Snake Plants – If you have a tendency to kill plants – even succulents – snake plants from Walmart are a great deal.
- ZZ Plants
Outdoor
A broad example of the outdoor live plants that Walmart sells include:
- Grasses
- Shrubs
- Vines
- Herbs
- Trees
In addition, Walmart also carries a range of faux plants, as well as plant care accessories and tools.
Where Does Walmart Get Its Plants From?
While this information is pretty old, someone on a message board purports that individual Walmart stores may source some of their live plants from local nurseries.
This isn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility; Walmart made a big deal out of beginning to source local produce all the way back in 2008.
It’s not a stretch that these same Walmart stores also source plants from area growers.
Keep an eye out next time you’re in the garden center. See if you can find any local tabs or pots or packaging.
Is Walmart A Good Place To Buy Plants?
If you’re seeking low-cost, mostly basic types of plants, Walmart is a good place to pick up a few ferns or succulents for your space.
They have a decent variety and, even better, terrific prices.
If online shopping is more your thing, Amanda Richards from Yahoo! Life actually wrote a little piece about how Walmart’s “hidden online garden center” is such a great way to get plants.
She points out that the “online garden center” carries a lot more than what you would find in stores, and I bet that’s doubly true during the winter months.
However, if you’re a total plant newb who is looking for education, guidance or answers to many questions, you might want to skip Walmart.
I think it’s pretty unlikely they’re going to have a dedicated horticulturist clocked in. (If your store does, great – lucky you! But I wouldn’t count on it.
Instead, head to your local garden center, where you’re much more likely to find plant experts.
Does Walmart Offer A Guarantee On Their Live Plants?
While Walmart does not offer any guarantees on their live plants, they do have a very flexible return policy.
In fact, where live plants are concerned, customers of both Walmart and Walmart.com have up to one year to return the plants.
You will have the most effortless return if you kept your receipt and bring it with you.
But if you don’t have it (a year is a long time) they can look it up or process a return without it and you’ll likely receive store credit, instead of the cash back.
There is an exception to the one-year return rule, however.
If you purchased your plant via the Walmart Marketplace, which is where third-party merchants can sell and take advantage of Walmart’s massive reach, you might have a shorter window.
This could be something like 30 days to return, and you have to contact the third party seller to initiate the process.
Why Do My Walmart Plants Keep Dying?
While I personally have had good luck with most of my Walmart plants, others claim Walmart’s plant quality is downright terrible.
Others have found that when they visit Walmart’s plant section, almost everything is already dead or dying.
And in 2019, the pathogen that causes Sudden Oak Death, a plant disease, was actually found in Walmart plants in Oklahoma!
Walmart plants don’t always have the best “shelf life,” and it’s likely for the same reason that you can get anything at Walmart for cheap.
To sell things, including succulents, ferns and grasses, for such low prices, Walmart sometimes has to cut corners where quality is concerned.
How Much Do Plants Cost At Walmart?
Walmart’s plants range in price from just a few dollars (for a small succulent) to over $100 for items like a specialty Bonsai tree.
Single indoor plants are generally less than $30, and those in the $20-30 range tend to be larger and come with a nice pot.
While some bonsais can cost over $100, most fall in the $20-50 range.
Outdoor shrubs and grasses cost between $15 and $60, but remember: that is for just one shrub or bit of grass.
If you’re trying to cover any expansive amount of space in your yard, you’ll have to multiply that price many times.
Where Are Located In Walmart?
Most live plants at Walmart are going to be located near the garden center, especially during the warmer months when plants can just sit outside.
This is an area off to one side of the store, with huge sliding double doors that lead out into the garden center proper, a space that has kind of a greenhouse feel to it.
However, I have also seen succulents and other plants near the entrance of stores or near the cash registers.
They tend to be in little crate carriers, on wire shelving units.
I think the stores do this around holidays like Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day – occasions when people give plants as gifts.
When Is The Best Time To Buy Plants From Walmart?
If you live in an area that sees all four seasons, then spring and early summer are going to be the best times to get live plants in Walmart stores.
This is when I really start to notice different plants coming out, including hanging baskets, different herbs and more succulent varieties.
Is ‘Proplifting’ Okay At Walmart?
Store policies on “Proplifting” – picking up leaves that have fallen off a plant, like a succulent, to take home and propagate, without buying an actual plant – will vary from store to store.
Proplifting rose to prominence recently, with a small surge of Tik Tokers and other social media users sharing their how-tos and tips on the practice.
Technically, if the leaf has fallen off the succulent, it was going to get swept up and thrown away anyway. It would be fair game.
One proplifting group member with a set of ethical standards for the activity thinks that this practice in a Walmart is allowable.
But not all stores will look at this the same way.
So if you’re unsure, but you’d like to be on the up-and-up, just ask an associate. The worst they can say is no.
Best-case scenario? You’re given the green light to go ahead and proplift to your heart’s content!
Does Walmart Sell Any Rare Plants?
It depends on what your definition of “rare” is.
Some might be surprised that Walmart sells bonsai trees; I certainly was the one time I visited and saw them (and naturally went home with one).
Certainly you will have more of a chance of finding “rare” plants on Walmart.com (versus in store).
It just takes some diligence; keep your eyes peeled and you might find a plant that surprises you, and for an even more surprising price.
To find out more about Walmart, you can also read our related articles on Walmart’s plant return policy, return hours, and find out what the best time to shop at Walmart is.
Conclusion
Walmart plants don’t always have a reputation for longevity, but don’t discount the convenience of shopping at Walmart, plus the low price-points.
For less than at your local garden center, you can find some of the most popular house plants, bushes, trees and more, both in Walmart stores and online at Walmart.com.